What do you think when your idea of what God’s will is, or what should happen does not happen – when your expectations are not met? This week, while in prison, John the Baptist sends a messenger to Jesus to ask if he is the “one who is to come, or should we look for someone else.” As The Rev. Danae Ashley says in “The Unexpected” “We put a lot of hope in people, and when the circumstances do not measure up to our expectations, we need help in grieving the loss of those hopes. Navigating the loss of the goals we have for ourselves, our children, and especially our God, can rock the foundation of our beliefs about the world and our place in it.” She gives a beautiful example of how parents, who planned, with great hopes and joy, the birth of a child, dealt with the child being born disabled, and the new joys and hopes they were given, and nurtured. Read Ven. Irene Egmalis-Maliaman's Expectations .
How can we have hope and experience joy when things don’t work out the way we want, what we dreamed of? The answer may not be what we expect, or want, but maybe the Advent miracle is to turn our eyes from ourselves to what God is doing. As the prophet Isaiah said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"
What do we hope for? What are our expectations? May we open our eyes to receive the hope and joy of the gifts of God when we let go of our expectations. We are not alone. John the Baptizer asks, "Are you the One?." May we look for, know, and receive the presence of God in our lives. Only then can we experience the joy which comes in the morning - in new beginnings.
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